Do I need to contact a real estate agency?
Having decided to sell an apartment, owners often try to conclude a deal on their own. Some publish advertisements for the sale of real estate on free websites, others submit advertisements in newspapers. It seems that there is nothing easier than placing an advertisement for the sale of a home, waiting for the buyer’s response and completing the transaction.
This is what many people think. However, before you start posting ads, there are a few questions you should ask yourself:

-Can you correctly estimate the cost of the apartment?
-Do you have enough free time to prepare all the documents?
-Do you have enough competencies to competently draw up a contract?
-Can you cope with this task better than an experienced realtor?
To completely dispel doubts and confidently answer the question “Do you need a realtor?”, let’s consider the details of such a transaction and find out what the advantages of contacting a real estate agency are.
Why do you need a realtor
The realtor’s direct responsibility is to organize the process of preparing and selling the apartment. If the job is well done, the seller will only have to sign the papers prepared in advance and fulfill the terms of the contract.
The work of a realtor in selling real estate includes four stages: apartment assessment, advertising campaign, collection of documentation and presentation of housing.
Appraisal of the apartment
Before starting to search for buyers, the apartment is assessed - to assign a price that would correspond to the condition, infrastructure of the area and other indicators.
Looking at the number of advertisements on the real estate portal, you will notice that the range of prices for the same characteristics of apartments is enormous. In order to set a price commensurate with the quality of the property and not lose money when selling, you need to be able to navigate advertising campaigns and understand what is a “canard” and what is an adequate price. This requires professional skills possessed by a qualified specialist - a realtor.
Advertising
An incompetent person might say that all apartment ads are the same, but this is far from true. Many ads written by owners themselves receive no response, while agency ads find a real buyer the very next day.
A realtor knows how to make an advertising campaign stand out and memorable, and what target audience any portal has. This is another plus of working as a realtor. A competent specialist will analyze competitors’ advertising, study the condition of the property and submit an advertisement to the media that will favorably highlight the main advantages of your apartment.
Execution of documents
The process of selling an apartment goes much faster if, at the negotiation stage, the seller was able to provide the buyer with documents drawn up in accordance with state standards. To sell an apartment you will need the following papers:
-Identification documents of the owner or authorized representative. This is a passport or birth certificate, power of attorney.
-Documents confirming the seller's ownership. These documents include a property registration certificate, an extract from the house register, a technical passport, a purchase and sale agreement, a certificate from the tax office; under unusual conditions of sale - and other securities.
-Additional information. Most often, an extract from the Unified State Register and a copy of the apartment card are requested.
The standard set of documents can be supplemented depending on the complexity of the situation, and some of them require notarization. To collect the necessary package of papers and coordinate their availability with government authorities, time and material investments are required. Often, these costs exceed the prices of a realtor’s services.
Presentation of the apartment
In addition to the apartment you present, buyers will explore many other options. They will compare and look for shortcomings to reduce the cost of housing. Preparing an apartment for presentation is not an easy process, and an experienced realtor can tell you how to improve the appearance of the apartment for showing.
At the presentation of the apartment, it is important to demonstrate the main advantages and smooth out the disadvantages noticed by the buyer. It often happens that the disadvantage is the buyer’s lack of knowledge about the property, so you should provide as much information as possible.
Getting people interested in an apartment is not easy: you need to outline the advantages of the apartment and the house, make convincing arguments in favor of the area, demonstrate title documents and familiarize the buyer with the terms of the deal. Specific knowledge and skills will be required to assess the buyer’s reaction to the apartment and conduct competent bargaining, which only a realtor can do.
Legal experience is an advantage for real estate agencies . By using a realtor, you can receive high-quality service and maximize the value of your transaction.
Where to go to get realtor services
A safe transaction is the prerogative of reliable companies. If you want to draw up a legally competent agreement that takes into account your rights and interests, contact trusted specialists, for example, realtors of the Etazhi agency. Our specialists will help organize a secure settlement with the buyer and select an alternative to your property in a short time.
English version :: Read in English: Should I contact a real estate agency?